Zany Ideas for Coral Prop

[tekknoschtev]

I've heard some weird things during the year I've been involved in this hobby in regards to growing corals out efficiently and cost-effectively.

So I am asking here - what is the strangest theory you've heard? Any threads or articles backing it up? Anyone you've seen/know actually use this method (have YOU used this methodology)?

And I'm not talking like "pee in the tank to cycle it" type things, but things like this whole "coral suspension" thing. Something interesting that might actually work at accelerating coral growth/color/etc.

[djcool563]

The one i know of is coral suspension you get about 2 times the growth. Another thing i have heard from a calfo article is laying the coral on the side instead of verticly. also he said to cut ut in half ( horizontally) then cut each half into little waffers and mount them he said you can get about 10-20 frags per one frag of coral. sounds interesting and hope to try it out sometime

[tekknoschtev]

I assume thats for SPS corals, correct? I'm not big on SPS corals (display or prop) however, I am planning on getting into some SPS in my prop tank so the tips are always good.

[djcool563]

Yes this is for SPS corals

[bsw445]

I have done this before with acro frags. After breaking them off the mother colony, I've glued them to another rock on their sides. The broken end heals quickly and starts to grow upwards, spreading quickly. Very nice results with this technique

[wjhuie]

You can take and dremel diamond cutting wheel and cut you frags into like 1/8''disk drill in the center with tiny diamond drill bit
thread them on fishing line and suspend the line across the tank.

[MiddletonMark]

The vertical vs. horizontal growth on Acropora I've found to be hit or miss. A few varieties really seem to take to it ... but others seem to take a lot longer to look like much.

I've seen others have good luck with it, though.
Partly it depends how long you'd like `grow out' to be. While I prefer to allow frags to encrust well and start growing again - I don't plan growing the frags for that long a period after that.

IMO, I'd set my mother colony out more horizontally, taking up the most space - and cut off that. Growth off the mother colony is what I'd try to maximize ... vs. allowing the frags another month before they're ready.

Recently I've mounted a few Acropora at a pretty good angle towards horizontal ... with the dremel diamond wheel, you can make a nice flat mounting surface at whatever angle you like :)
Seems like with a little more light to the base, they encrust rapidly.

If we're talking Montipora, Pocillapora ... the like - I've had quite good luck with horizontal mounts. Seem like they will develop new growth tips faster, and `look like something' faster.

Just one opinion, though.

[reelheel]

I agree Mark. I've had an awesome blue Millepora frag mounted on it's side for months, and it is just starting to turn upward and grow...it has laid down a massive base, and will probably grow pretty quickly upward when it starts, but it has been a long time coming. I've found that in almost any case, vertical orientation is almost always more desirable (in a propagation for resale/trade) application. If you're growing a frag to be a nice colony in your tank, then horizontal is fine...if you want frags (quickly) to sell/trade, you better stand 'em up. There are some exceptions - Mark mentioned a couple - but I've had the best luck with the "traditional" mount.
Suspension I haven't tried yet, but I like wjhuie's method...I may give this a shot with one of my "beefier" SPS....I think my fat blue-tipped stag would be a good candidate.

[BillnJennh]

It was mentioned on this thread that you could cut wafers and glue them down. Are you talking about just cutting the coral into circles and gluing them down?

[bluemanta]

how does suspension promote 2 times the growth?

[maxvan1]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6822979#post6822979 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by bluemanta
how does suspension promote 2 times the growth?

Well, it will be differnt for everyone. But, suspension has quite a few benifits...
1. less things around to block flow & light
2. you can suspend them closer to the light
3. couple others I cant think off the top of my head search 'coral suspension'

[PL-Reef]

i just set up a 30gl frag tank off my system. im experimenting with suspention and glueing frags horizontly. i'll post some picts when i find my ubs cable. so far the frags that i layed down have allready shown some growth! and the frags i suspended , the cut ends are healing quickly. i cant wait to see how every thing looks in a couple months.

[Opcn]

Prop Acros under 6700K maybe even HPS bulbs, tanks will look like its filled with cat **** but shallow water photosynthetics will grow much faster

[scottywags]

I mount most of my frags on thier side. So eventually I will have many "mother colonies", But there are a few corals that don't do well like this. Meaning they take a LONG time to grow up.
When it comes to strange methods, I've never heard of the suspension method. Anyone with a good link?
I did read on GARFS site about them trying to glue acros upside down so the corralites were forced to grow towards the light. They said they were having pretty good success with this. I've personally never tried this.

[PL-Reef]

check out the first thread in this forum. it has a couple articals about suspention.

[tonkadawg]

can someone expand a little more on the waffer method? Maybe someone knows of some pictures that illustrate this?

[PL-Reef]

hers a few pic of my corals i suspended. its not much but its a start. cant wait to see what they look like in a few months. they not the best , they were taken under 65k ushio bulbs.
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/109020100_2736.JPG
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/109020100_2741.JPG
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/109020100_2733.JPG

i'm a carpenter not a photographer... sorry.

[tonkadawg]

plreef,

Does your suspended frag tend to blow around in the current? If so, have you had any problems with it knocking into other corals in the tank?

[PL-Reef]

they all blow around, but i left enought space so their not hitting each other. they tap the glass once in a wile.